Music Copyright Society of Kenya (MCSK) CEO Ezekiel Mutua has slammed boy band, Sauti Sol, over claims that their rights were infringed after Raila played one of their songs during the unveiling of Martha Karua as his running mate at KICC, Nairobi.
According to Mutua, Raila had been licensed to use musical works during his campaign in accordance with the copyright law and gazetted tariffs.
He shifted the blame to Kenya Copyright Board(KECOBO) for the confusion witnessed noting that the misunderstanding should be solved amicably.
“Regarding the issue of Sauti Sol and the statement by the Kenya Copyright Board, we wish to clarify that we licensed the Raila Odinga Presidential Campaign for use of musical works in their campaigns as per the Copyright Law and gazetted tariffs. We are therefore shocked to see the confusion being caused by KECOBO over this matter,” he wrote.
The CEO says Sauti Sol should instead laud Raila Odinga for complying with the copyright law by obtaining a license for music used in his political rallies and campaign events.
“We should give credit to the Raila Odinga presidential campaign team for complying with the copyright law by obtaining a licence for music used in his political rallies and campaign events. The confusion by KECOBO is both unwarranted and unfortunate as these are matters we should have resolved amicably, given that we licensed the client in broad daylight,” he added.
Ezekiel Mutua explained that the Kenya Copyright Board is not a CMO and any issue about the synchronisation of the video, should be a matter to be resolved by the CMOs who issued the license.
“Our over 15000 members, including Sauti Sol, have assigned to us, not only the performing rights but also mechanical rights that include synchronisation. MCSK has been licensing synchronisation for decades and KECOBO knows that,” Mutua noted.
Yesterday, Sauti Sol threatened to sue Raila and his Azimio team for alleged copyright infringement saying their work was being used for a campaign without their consent.
In their response, Raila’s ODM says the coalition played one of their songs dubbed Extravaganza out of love and as a way to show appreciation for their work.
“We would like to assure our celebrated musical team @sautisol that we love them & appreciate their music so much. The group has carried our country’s flag so high in international fora & every Kenyan appreciates this. Playing their song yesterday was a show of love for their work,” the tweet read.
